Sheer Equality
by Psychic Genius
Summary: She knew she would prove them all wrong someday. Elena-centric. Relena in later chapters.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note**__: Wow, I've been away for quite a while now! I'm not so sure that I have a legitimate excuse, either... So this is my first Final Fantasy VII fic!! I'm really excited for everything that I hope it becomes. And I've got a lot more planned; you can check out my page for that. Even though I have no idea when I'll be able to touch on any other ideas...this story is going to take a while, I know that much. And I am aware that many have wrote similar stories as this...after all, everyone had their own ideas about Elena, and this is mine. But I can promise that this one is different. I'll do my best with updates, and hopefully I'll have upcoming chapters written before I even reach them (if that makes sense! :)). Oh, and thanks goes out to Moiranne Rose for betaing this fic! So I hope you enjoy the story, if you're reading! Same goes for everyone else!!_

_**Disclaimer: **_It would be great if I allowed myself to even _dream _of owning FFVII... =)

___________________________________________________________________________

**:. Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter One: Prologue**

_Bearing the burden of a secret storm_

_Sometimes she wishes she was never born_

_Through the wind and the rain_

_She stands hard as a stone_

_In a world that she can't rise above_

- - - - - - -

She sighed in frustration. It had been the third time she'd rifled through the contents of her locker, and she still hadn't found the notebook in question. Her usually pristine locker was now a horrific mess, the books that it contained threatening to spill everywhere at any moment. In an attempt to prevent this, Elena slammed the door shut quickly, attracting the attention of a few passing peers. Judging by the small amount of people left in the hallways, she only had a minute or so to make it to the next class on time. She tried her best to avoid colliding with anyone as she sped down a set of stairs, but in the process of doing so she lost her footing and tripped on the last stair, sending everything she'd been carrying to the ground several feet ahead.

_Yeah, it was definitely going to be one of those days_.

No one paid any heed to her as she collected her things. Not that she really expected them to. At her high school, Elena Meyers was a nobody, just a soon-to-be 17-year-old with no ambition in life. It was the beginning of her junior year, and most of her classmates had already begun planning the next step in their education or career path. Elena's only goal in life was to make it through each day.

She continued sprinting, no longer bothering to keep from jostling anyone on the way, until the door to the classroom was clearly visible. She flung open the door and took her seat just as the bell rang; once situated, she purposely averted her eyes to avoid the perfunctory stare on her teacher's face. When he began his lecture, she deemed it safe to look up, and sighed in relief. He seemed to be in a more cooperative mood today, which was good considering she'd been late the past two days and she was fresh out of believable excuses. She pushed some of her long blonde hair that had been made untidy by her running out of her face and behind her ear.

Elena had never really appreciated Midgar History, so she usually spent the entirety of the class mentally comparing her plump, appalling teacher to a specific animal based on his equally hideous choice of wardrobe. She decided that today he was a gorilla; his gray sweater vest was, in fact, oversized and hairy...

"Ms. Meyers!" Elena's daydream was abruptly ended. "Perhaps you could answer my question?" The teacher's smug little eyes looked at her from behind even smaller glasses.

"No, sir. Sorry," she replied, not even bothering to ask what the question was. To her surprise, he gave up on badgering her and called on someone else. _I guess that bit of luck makes up for the stairway injury, _she thought. With that, her mind went adrift again.

* * * * *

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, and she was more than grateful to hear the final bell of the day. Not that she was looking forward to what awaited her at home... it was the fifteen minutes of solace, the separation between the two hells of her life, that she craved. She had been "lucky" enough, as deemed by her family, to receive a hand-me-down car from her older sister Rosalind when her sister had been granted a new one. If it hadn't been for that fact, Elena would have loved her car. But anything that connected her to Rosalind was unforgivable.

Elena had always believed that if she herself had been the first-born in her family, her life would have been dramatically different and probably exceedingly easier. It was always about Rosalind when it came to her family; she was her parents' pride and joy. Rosalind was capable of doing the impossible, she was destined for greatness, she had _potential._ Her parents believed in her so much that she was enrolled in the Shinra Military Academy at the first possible occasion, because anyone who had potential became involved with Shinra. When Rosalind was initiated into the Turks, Elena knew that she would never hear the end of it. And it was pathetic in a way, because if people hadn't given Rosalind so much attention she might have had a chance. But they did, and it caused her to become the arrogant, loathed, heartless bitch that even Rosalind herself knew she was.

As for Elena...well, Elena was basically part of the background that just made her sister look better. That's why Elena never became passionate about anything; why bother if it would just be taken away from her? Did she ever consider herself a failure? No, nor did anyone else. She just wasn't noteworthy enough for the world she lived in.

_But maybe things will be different now, _she thought to herself, ignoring countless horns blaring in the traffic engulfing her as she drove home. Her sister, for reasons Elena didn't care enough to know, had not been at home for roughly two weeks, which was unusual. At first, her parents supposed it was work-related; it was the most conceivable possibility, being that Rosalind was a Turk, and Turks often received confidential missions that required them to be away for long periods of time.

However, it had been today, in the morning, that those thoughts had been changed. As Elena tiredly stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen, she caught sight of her father sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper before him, and her mother reading intently over one of his shoulders. Elena had always thought it strange that her father, who was employed as a teacher at the Shinra Military Academy for as long as she could remember, followed the happenings in the _Midgar Inquirer _so closely, when he was already aware of any news dealing with Shinra. Which was basically the only thing the newspaper covered.

On this particular morning, Elena took in the confusion that had been etched into her father's face as he read, and she became equally confused in turn. She plopped down into an empty kitchen chair and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She noted that her father's own cereal and coffee had remained untouched. Every once in a while he would finger the handle of the coffee mug as if to pick it up, but always hesitated and let it remain unmoved. Her mother fidgeted with her hands as she read.

After a few minutes of deafening silence, her father let the paper fall with a noisy crinkle upon the table, with him muttering, "How did we not know about this?" to himself. He then stood, picking up his mug of coffee and his car keys and hurried towards the front door; the only explanation he offered was his response of "Someone at work has to know more," before the door closed behind him. Elena's mother's reaction was to clean up the coffee that he spilled on the floor in his rush.

Fully awakened, Elena picked up the paper and searched for the article that caused the scene she'd just witnessed. It didn't take long. In bold print across the front page of the paper were the words "Majority of the Turks Said to be Missing in Action."

* * * * *

Now, as Elena parked between two cars on her street, she considered the headline from that morning. It was strange that the _Midgar Inquirer _had even got their hands on any information about the Turks. Very little was known about them, only that the position of a Turk was highly prestigious, and that an encounter with one of them never ended well.

She sat for a moment in the stationary car, contemplating what the headline meant for her life. All she could think of was change; she couldn't distinguish whether the change would be good or bad.

As for the fate of her sister, Elena couldn't force any emotions upon herself. Was she supposed to feel anything? Anger? Grief? All she felt was indifference. It didn't matter that she was her sister; it never had. Regardless of what had befallen her sister, Elena was certain that Rosalind's thoughts did not concern her.

Her parents had returned from work at the usual hour. Elena had heard no news from either of them until they were all seated at the dinner table, and her mother had glanced at her father with a look of expectation. Understanding her gaze, he began, "They suppose there was an assault committed by assassins out for revenge. The weakest were probably taken out, while the others went into hiding. From what I gather, the assassins have been handled by the Turks that remained with the company." He paused, taking in his wife's expression, which was a mix between unease and confusion. She started, "But what if—"

"I have the utmost faith that Rosalind, wherever she may be, can take care of herself. I'm not going to address the possibility that you were considering," he interrupted. With that, Elena's mother remained silent, immersed in thought, for the rest of the meal. The only words spoken came from her father. He was discussing what changes were now occurring at the Academy. He mentioned that teachers were allowing more students into combat programs and were given more opportunities to become Turks.

After a while, Elena tuned out his words. Matters of Shinra were never important to her. After all, it was the company that, according to her parents, she wasn't good enough to be a part of. At least that was what she always assumed, that they didn't want to waste their time on her because she didn't have _potential _like her sister did. She had learned to accept it with time.

When she had finished eating, Elena dismissed herself and retired to her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed, grateful that it was the weekend. She wasn't excessively tired, and it wasn't that late, but before long she had drifted into sleep. Her last thoughts of that day were thoughts of hope, hope that life would improve, and that from now on her life would have purpose.

* * * * *

Behind the closed door of a meeting room, three men were gathered for a discussion. One was seated behind an expensive mahogany desk with files strewn across it; the other two were opposite him. Although the room's objects were luxurious, the overall atmosphere was austere and it reeked of business and efficiency.

The one behind the desk was the first to speak. "I'm sure you two understand the importance of this mission. I know it isn't exactly something we do every day, but we're turning to desperate measures." He handed each of the other two a few files, while keeping a few for himself. "Inside each of those is information concerning the families of those who have gone missing. Or at least what we could find of them," he said.

One of the men in front of the desk spoke in a gruff but quiet voice, "Sir, why not just recruit senior members of the Academy?"

"We are attempting that as well," the first man said smoothly. "But from what I have seen, the supposed "talent" that the Academy is currently nurturing doesn't look all that promising. So the people you are pursuing will act as a backup."

"Sounds like we're screwed, then," the third man said. "If any relatives of our employees were interested in this type of career, they would have already been enrolled. I think you should get used to just the three of us," he added with a smirk while rocking back in his chair, an action that clashed with the stern air of the room.

"Well, unlike you, I don't plan on giving up just yet," the first man countered with a tinge of anger. "With everything that is happening with the company now, we can't afford to be less efficient in our work. The people mentioned in those files have just as much aptitude as some of the best students that the Academy is training, although it is untapped. So it is our job to devise ways to test them, without them suspecting our purposes." He then stood up, signaling the end of the meeting.

The two others followed suit. On their way out of their leader's office, one turned around and asked, "But how in hell are we supposed to test them?"

"Be creative," the leader said curtly.

___________________________________________________________________________

_**Author's Note**__: So that's the first chapter! I know there wasn't really much going on, I was mostly just setting the scene and giving details. I hope you guys liked it! Stick around for lots more to come, and don't forget to review!_


	2. Out of the Ordinary

_**Author's Note: **__Ahh second chapter! It's sad how excited I am to be finished with the first! =) Thanks goes out to all of you who read the first chapter! Don't feel shy to review! As a little side note, this story takes place right after FFVII: Before Crisis...that's 6 years before the original game, if anyone was wondering about that. Not a whole lot of action going on here either...but don't worry! There's some excitement coming up soon!_

_**Disclaimer: **_If you were expecting me to say something clever here...well, sorry.

* * *

**:. Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter Two: Out of the Ordinary**

_And I'll find that there is someone to believe in  
And to live for something I could live for..._

- - - - - - -

Despite the fact that it was the weekend, Elena woke up at 6:30 a.m. the next day. Her bleary, half-opened eyes looked out her bedside window. If the sun was ever visible from beyond the permanently hazy sky of Midgar, it would have been rising. But as usual, the morning started out as cloudy as always.

Although she had gotten plenty of sleep the previous night, Elena felt no more motivated than she had been before. Upon hearing her empty stomach complaining, she decided that breakfast might be a good idea. As she traveled downstairs to the kitchen, she settled on making an omelet.

Her idea was sounding better and better as she pulled the ingredients needed from around the room. _Salt, pepper_...She opened the refrigerator. _Cheese, ham, milk, eggs_...wait, there were no eggs. Damn.

She thought for a moment; the convenience store was only two blocks away, it couldn't hurt to walk. Running upstairs, she changed out of her pajamas and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt, and quickly made her way to the front door.

It was still fairly early, but that never stopped the rushing crowds and traffic on the upper plate of the city. Businessmen were sipping coffee as they ambled by, cars were pulling into the already filled streets, children were running about.

It only took five minutes for her to reach the store, and she was soon standing in line with a carton of eggs in hand. As she waited, she glanced at the man standing behind her. He had picked up a copy of that day's _Midgar Inquirer _and was paging through it. Seeing her fleeting look, he looked up at her and smiled kindly. Chuckling and shaking his head, he said, "I really should buy the paper more often. You stop getting the paper for a few days, and suddenly you're out of the loop. Do you understand any of this?" His expression was a little bit too probing and she noticed that his eyes involuntarily flickered to various corners of the store.

She was taken aback for a moment, since she hadn't been expecting the man to ask her anything. With an apologetic smile she replied, "No, sorry. I don't really follow news with Shinra." He looked slightly surprised at this. In the current state of things, it was pretty difficult to ignore the happenings of Shinra.

While she handed over some gil to the cashier he shrugged and folded the paper up again. "Oh well, I'll figure it out somehow."

When Elena picked up her bagged eggs and left the store, the man put the paper back on the rack and stepped out of line. He stole a quick look at the tall man with shades and a blue suit in the corner of the store, felt the gil in his pocket that hadn't been there a few minutes ago with one hand, and gave a cordial wave to him with the other on his way out.

* * * * *

With a bounce in her step, Elena traveled the distance back to her house. The bag she was holding swung with every other step she took. The crowds had thinned, but had not diminished.

As she was thinking about possible ways to entertain herself that weekend, a strange feeling overcame her. She stopped walking for a minute and tried to place what feeling it was, but couldn't identify it. In an instant, the feeling was gone and she continued.

When she had gone about half the distance to home, the feeling unexpectedly returned. She stopped again, and decided not to start walking until she could recognize it. As she mused she gazed at nearby people and buildings. That was it! It felt like someone was watching her.

Elena quickly looked in every nook, alleyway, and side road in sight. She saw no one that looked suspicious or appeared to be looking at her. She sighed and picked up her previous pace, while becoming lost in her thoughts.

After a minute, she heard rapidly approaching footsteps that seemed to be coming from nowhere. Stuck between stopping and looking around or walking faster, she deliberated for a moment and eventually did both. When her eyes scanned the immediate area, she realized that the neighborhood was unfamiliar. Where was she and how had she gotten here?

She spun around and hurried in the direction in which she came, searching for a turn she must have missed. The footsteps continued steadily. Elena broke into a full sprint, too panicked to realize that the footsteps were now traveling in the opposite direction.

Before she could register what was happening, someone in dark clothing materialized from a hidden alley in front of her and darted toward her, stepping behind her and clutching her shoulders as if she was a shield. A group of men in similar attire followed, each holding a hand gun. They stopped when they saw that the man was behind Elena, but didn't hesitate to aim their guns in her direction.

A voice spoke from behind, "You fellas wouldn't hurt a lady, would ya?" The group of armed men didn't so much as budge, keeping their guns trained on Elena and the man behind her.

Up until this point Elena had been too dazed to move a muscle. But upon hearing the man behind her speak she immediately whirled around to face him, knocking his arms off her shoulders. He was a few inches taller than she, a brunette with an unshaven face and a shady air about him. In an instant he grasped the handle of a metal briefcase that had been thrown upon the ground in his rush that looked as if it contained some type of explosive. Elena's eyes widened at the sight of it.

Before she could get more involved in the gang chase, she shoved the man out of her way and rushed as fast as she could down the street that had lead her there. She didn't look back; she tried to think as coherently as possible. Which direction would lead her home? She picked a random street and hoped for the best.

People that she passed gave her worried looks as she ran. She ran faster when she heard the sound of a distant gunshot, no doubt coming from where she had just been.

After running for an indeterminable amount of time, she caught sight of a familiar brick building that marked the corner of her street. She stopped at once to catch her breath, resting one of her hands against a telephone pole. _What the hell had just happened? _Events like that, although in constant existence in Midgar, never happened to her. She knew that she was lucky to be alive, lucky that the gunmen had hesitated, lucky that no one had followed her.

Her next thoughts were about the footsteps. It hit her that they only belonged to a single person, not a group of people. So if not the gang, then who...? _No, stop it, _she silently berated herself. _Stop thinking about it. _The footsteps were what had gotten her lost, and had almost gotten her killed.

Still panting, she looked down at the grocery bag that had suffered the journey with her. Untwisting the handles, she found that the eggs had broken.

* * * * *

A man waited in a concealed alleyway that was hidden in the shadows of surrounding buildings. Before long, another man sauntered into view, wearing a jovial expression.

"Damn, you almost had to help little blondie out back there," the smiling man said. He knew the other man was glaring at him through his shades.

"Almost?" He held up an empty metal briefcase. Its contents were spilled all over the concrete beneath them.

The second man bent down to get a better look in the dim light. Upon examination, he found a poorly assembled bomb with misplaced wires sticking out of it. He glanced up at his partner and laughed. "This thing has less bite than a cherry bomb. I knew those bastards weren't worth our time."

"She didn't."

The second man stood up and brushed himself off. "Well, besides dealing with petty thieves and a ditzy blonde, at least we learned something today." His partner looked at him expectantly, clearly not seeing what lessons could be learned from a wild goose chase.

"She can run." The man with shades let out a rare chuckle.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_Poor Elena...don't you just hate it when that happens? =) So if you want to call that action, be my guest...I'm just pretty embarrassed that the whole thing had to happen because of omelets. I realized this chapter wasn't quite as long as the first, so I apologize for that. Next one's longer, I promise...There's a lot of stuff coming up soon, including an important entrance next chapter, so don't go anywhere! Reviews are nice, as always!


	3. So It Begins

_**Author's Note: **__Okay, so I think an apology on my part is in order. I'm terribly sorry that it's been so long. I've been super, crazy busy with school and life...and there were some small, but important changes that I had to make with this chapter before it was ready. If anyone was wondering O.O So, on with the story! Hope you guys enjoy! Oh, and please review!! I really do care about reviews, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think so far! It helps a lot, I promise. =)_

_**Disclaimer: **_Well, last time I checked I wasn't delusional, so....

* * *

**:. Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter Three: So It Begins**

_When violet eyes get brighter__  
__And heavy wings grow lighter__  
__I'll taste the sky and feel alive again__  
__And I'll forget the world that I knew__  
_

- - - - - - -

After parking outside her house, Elena opened the front door with some difficulty. Homework had been piled on top of her today, quite literally, and she had to shift the load of books into the crook of one of her arms to push the door open.

Her parents were already home and appeared to be discussing something together in the living room. It had been about a week since Rosalind had gone missing and since the incident with the gang. With each coming day, Elena realized how wrong she had been about her life changing for the better.

Her sister's "situation" had an unpredictable effect on her parents. For a while nothing seemed different, but over time Elena noticed change. Both of her parents were currently in a delirious state and seemed to be in denial of the entire incident. Whenever something reminded them of Rosalind, they would gush to each other about how proud they were of her, or how she was surely doing the family great justice, or about how excited they would be when she came home.

After throwing the oppressive books she'd been carrying into a nearby chair, Elena took in some of the chatter drifting from the living room. _Just can't believe...so thrilled that she joined the Turks...can't wait to see her again..._Definitely Rosalind-related.

One of them must have seen her in the adjacent room, because her father soon gestured for her to join them. Elena considered pretending not to see him; she usually didn't partake in Rosalind conversations. And that homework definitely wasn't going to finish itself. But he looked rather insistent and appeared to be in a good mood.

She crossed the foyer and into the living room, taking a seat in an empty chair. Looking at her parents' eager but hesitant faces, she waited for an explanation of her own presence. Giving up, she put her head in her hands and asked, "What's going on?"

Her mother took her cue, speaking in a careful tone that Elena didn't like. "Well, we were just discussing how Rosalind has been away..." _Yeah, what's new?_

Her father picked up where she had left off, "We were thinking of having some sort of celebration when she returns. We expect it will be soon." Elena couldn't even count how many things were wrong with what she had just heard. "We wanted your opinion on a theme, since we weren't exactly sure what she would want."

Elena was in complete shock. They really were losing it, and they had no idea. She couldn't believe that this was what everything in the last week had come to. Inside, she was furious.

"Can't you hear what you're saying?" Wait, did she just say that aloud?

Her parents didn't seem to comprehend. Her father chuckled. "What do you mean, Elena?" She couldn't help it; the blinder they were, the angrier she became. Suddenly, she didn't care what came out of her mouth anymore.

"Stop it! Just stop! She's _never_ coming back!" Elena screamed shrilly, earning an appalled, harsh glare from her mother. "You don't think it's a little unusual that she's been out of contact for so long? That_ none _of those missing have returned?"

Her father opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "No, you're too busy being proud of everything she's done to notice what's staring you in the face. You're losing your minds." At this, her father's grip on the arm of his chair increased and her mother began to rise from her seat. Before either could reply or stop her, she ran from the room and out the front door.

* * * * *

She sat on the curb outside her house, her fists balled so tight that her knuckles were white and her body still shaking with righteous anger. Luckily her parents had been wise enough not to follow her outside. She could only hope, for their own sake, that they were currently contemplating their sanity. She didn't wish to find out.

She had never expected her parents' attention to turn completely to her, but didn't expect all of it to remain with her sister, either. She'd never felt so disregarded in her life. Was she really that invisible? Another thought hit her. A party? Even if Rosalind was coming home, she hated parties. Did they forget that, too?

She sighed and stood up, facing the end of her street that led to one of the main streets in Midgar. _Maybe a walk would help._

She set off at a slow pace, thoughts racing though her mind endlessly. She desperately needed change. Was it something she needed to put effort into finding, or would it come in its own time? Her life never took any unpredictable turns in the past, so did that mean that it never would? She smiled to herself ruefully. This wasn't really helping at _all_.

As she stopped at a corner, she was suddenly reminded of the past week's incident. She continued on after assuring herself that she wasn't lost this time and wouldn't let it happen again. The neighborhood she was presently passing through was no better than anything beneath the plate, but nowadays, what neighborhood wasn't? Except for anything relating to Shinra, the world was falling apart.

Even the attitudes of the people were different here. Anyone that passed her regarded her with a suspicious, untrusting look that was unlike anything she was used to. They were all dressed in shades of gray that blended in well with their surroundings, making Elena's bright blonde hair even more of a contrast than usual.

She soon approached a brick building that stood out from the other buildings on the block. It was obviously aged since most buildings in Midgar were now made from various types of scrap metal. A slightly crooked sign was attached to one side of the building, reading _Gaia's Best_ in large, peeling black letters, with _Rated Finest Tavern in Midgar! _written underneath. Gaia's Best? Maybe twenty years ago...

Nightfall had overcome the city during her walk, and the only visible parts of the block were those that were under the streetlamps. Elena was about to turn around and head home, but an idea struck her. The bar was clearly less than respectable, but the adventurous spirit inside her was urging her to enter it. She had never been inside a bar in her life and had planned never to come near one until she was of age. Yet here she was, and her faulty judgment was telling her that the opportunity wasn't going to present itself again any time soon. She finally settled on entering just to observe the bar out of her sheer curiosity. After all, she'd never planned on drinking anything, especially something from such a decrepit and questionable place.

She slowly ascended the rickety stairs and pushed open the groaning door. Her eyes pirouetted about the room. It wasn't far from what she had expected: a shady atmosphere that reeked of must and alcohol where burly, beer-saturated males were predominate. There was a hushed chatter that filled the room that was interrupted with raucous laughter at some intervals. Most of its inhabitants sat in groups around the room, while the rest occupied the stools facing the bar. Being that there was nothing fantastic waiting for her at home, she searched the room for an empty seat and tried to keep a low profile.

Easier said than done. Upon the first step she took toward the seat, a self-conscious feeling overcame her. Was it just her, or was every pair of eyes in the room now focused on her? It was only then that she became aware that she had never changed out of her school uniform. As if she didn't stick out enough to begin with...

She turned around and left immediately, hoping that anyone who had seen her was convinced that she had entered the bar by mistake. She descended the stairs two at a time, suddenly feeling intimidated by the surrounding darkness. Every step she took away from the bar made her feel safer.

All of a sudden she heard rushed, heavy footfalls on the creaking stairs behind her. A gruff, heavily intoxicated male voice slurred, "Hey blondie, where ya going?" She didn't dare turn around or stop walking. They weren't talking to her...there had to be some other blonde in the area, right?

"You deaf or somethin'?" She swore internally and turned around. A rather husky man, swaying slightly, was approaching her. For every step he took toward her, Elena took one back. "Everyone saw ya back there. How'd a pretty little girl like you end up in these parts?" He grinned wildly, baring a crooked smile and continuing his advance. She stole a quick look behind her. The street was narrow and her backwards footsteps were taking her into an alleyway with a dead end. Recognizing that it was no use escaping, she stopped and prayed that the man was more of an upstanding citizen than he looked, and that she could walk away after a brief conversation. Unfortunately, he appeared to have no interest in small talk.

She began to rack her mind for anything that could help her out. She'd taken a martial arts class about three years ago, and she tried to focus on any memories from the class. But in doing so, she missed his advance and gasped when her wrists were grasped tightly in the man's large hands and pressed against a nearby building.

"Let go," she hissed, locking eyes with the man. His grip didn't loosen in the slightest as he began to close the gap between them. Elena turned her head to avoid inhaling the alcohol that the man exuded from his mouth.

She could feel her knees about to buckle, and she took in a haggard breath. After regaining some control of her legs, she kneed him in the groin as hard as she could, causing him to relinquish his hold on her. He staggered a little, and Elena took advantage of this by placing a forceful kick to his chest, sending him backpedaling unsteadily. She kicked him in both of his shins, which made him fall ungracefully backwards with a thump, his arms scraping against the concrete. After his head collided with the ground he remained motionless.

Elena backed away cautiously, panting heavily. She could feel adrenaline rushing through her veins; there was a feeling of hyperawareness in her body. She realized with a start that it felt good...incredible, even. She tried to calm herself down, but failed in doing so. It didn't help that she noticed a small, dark red stain on the concrete beneath the man's head that was slowly expanding. She warily bent down next to the man, checking to make sure he had a pulse in his wrist, and let go the second she found it.

Before anyone could see her standing by the unconscious man, she turned to leave the scene. She noticed too late that there was someone strolling toward her, breaking the eerie silence with light, but confident footsteps. It was too dark in the alleyway to distinguish what the person looked like, but whoever it was, their steady footsteps didn't indicate them to be alarmed by the man who was passed out or the blood pooling about his head.

Elena squinted her eyes, finally seeing the form of a lanky young man before her. The first thing she saw was a shock of red hair that stuck out messily in all directions, followed by vivid aquamarine mako eyes that shone in the darkness, and deathly pale skin. There were two deep, identical scars shaped like half moons on his thin face, one resting high on each of his cheekbones, and he wore a pair of goggles on his forehead. From what she could see, he was dressed in a dark suit with an untucked white dress shirt fully visible from beneath its unbuttoned jacket.

She had to admit she was intimidated. The man had to be at least a head taller than her, not to mention he carried a nightstick in his left hand and had a dangerous aura about him.

"Elena Meyers, right?" He drawled, seeming almost bored with the situation. Elena was completely taken aback. Of all of the things she had expected him to say, that was definitely not one of them. _How does he know my name? _She was certain that she had never seen the man before in her life, because if she had she wouldn't have ever forgotten it.

"I couldn't help but notice your little performance." She followed his gaze to the body on the ground. "Shouldn't have bothered with his pulse, though." Her eyes quickly returned to him, not wanting to miss any unforeseen movement. Was he...grinning at her? _What the hell...?_

"Who are you?" She'd intended for the question to come out way louder than it actually did. His smile just grew, and the question went unanswered. A second later the grin was gone, replaced by a pensive stare that wasn't focused on anything in particular. One of his hands dug around inside his pants pocket until he found a small scrap of paper and a pen.

"Even though I would set our standards a little higher," he muttered, turning to a nearby wall to scribble something on the paper, "I think the director might like to see you." Once he was done writing, he faced her again and handed her the paper. "Go to that address as early as possible tomorrow."

Now she was utterly bewildered. Tearing her eyes away from the man, she read what the barely legible handwriting said. _3030 Shinra Square, Floor 64. _Shinra Square? But that was...Shinra's headquarters...

She laughed. "This is a joke, right?" When she received no answer, she looked up again. The man that had been standing before her moments ago was now nowhere in sight.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Now we're getting somewhere :) I hope that was suspenseful enough for everyone. This was a really fun one to write. Again, drop me a line and let me know how I did, what you liked or didn't, what you want to see, whatever. Fourth chapter's coming soon!_


	4. A Dream or Nightmare?

_**Author's Note: **__So I know that it seems like me apologizing for taking so long to update is becoming a trend...things have been super busy again, but chapter four is here now! So be happy! I am! So there's one little issue from the last chapter that someone addressed, concerning floor numbers in Shinra. (Thank you licoriceallsorts for pointing that out!) Apparently the 64__th__ floor is pretty much just locker rooms, so from now on I'm going to be using the 65__th__ for the Turks. Just to clear up anyone's confusion...hopefully there isn't a problem with 65 :) And hopefully I won't run into anymore problems like that, because I recently got the game!! Yay! So anyways...enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer: **__o_0 Still no._

* * *

**:. Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter Four: A Dream or Nightmare? **

'_Cause I __am barely breathing  
And I can__'t__ find the air  
I don__'t know who I'm kidding__  
Imagining you care  
And I could stand here waiting  
A fool for another day  
But I don__'t suppose it's__ worth the price, worth the price  
The price that I would pay  
_

- - - - - - -

The shrill ring of the last bell of the day startled Elena out of her thoughts. Looking around at her surrounding classmates collecting their things and leaving the classroom, she quickly removed her head from her hands, the position in which she had been resting for the past hour.

She had not been able to focus for the entire day; her thoughts had been elsewhere. They rested with none other than her encounter with the drunken man and the redheaded stranger from the night before.

She couldn't deny that her spirits had been lifted a little due to the previous night. She had to admit she was exceedingly pleased with herself, and also that she had a right to be. She had taken out a man that was twice her size and escaped without a scratch. She beamed at the thought of it, picking up her books and following the others into the hallway.

But, as she gathered what she needed for that night from her locker and hurried toward the doors of the school, she couldn't help feeling a little suspicious about the whole situation. Was the young man really that impressed that she had knocked out the man? What was she even going to Shinra for? He wasn't particularly specific, and the scrap of paper didn't help much.

Another pessimistic thought occurred to her. What if the stranger was just pulling her leg? It would certainly be hilarious to see someone such as herself embarrass herself by going the headquarters of the most important company on the planet with no purpose, only that "a stranger told me to come here". She tried urgently to dismiss that notion, but found that she couldn't. _Or what if I'm in trouble? _She swallowed hard.

At first, the thought of going anywhere near Shinra repulsed her. To her, it represented her sister, everything that she had been denied. It was a mythical place that existed to her only in her wildest fantasies, one that she could never hope to come true. But when her sister had vanished and the redhead appeared before her, it seemed to come into her reach.

After deliberating for a while, she'd settled on a decision. She saw the whole situation as an opportunity (or a punishment that _shouldn't_ be avoided) and felt internally that it would be a mistake not to go to Shinra. So, starting her car, she plotted the best way to the Company.

* * * * *

She'd quickly learned that there was no good way to reach the company's headquarters. Once she had crossed onto Sector 0, the traffic had become unbearable. Most of the passing vehicles had Shinra's trademark red diamond emblazoned on their sides. The traffic in the opposite lane was backed up for miles, and her lane was only a little better. Finally, once she exited the endless highway, she was beneath the soaring metallic towers of Shinra.

After undergoing the nightmare of finding a parking place, she approached the building on foot. Around the building itself, it was relatively empty, the employees most likely still inside at this hour. Elena tried her hardest not to gawk at the sight of it, the gigantic pipes extending to all ends of the city, the numerous spotlights that surrounded it and shone in the eternally hazy skies, the main tower that loomed ominously above her. She had seen the building countless times before; it was visible from virtually any location above the Plate. But she had never been so close to it, and never had it had this effect on her. How could one building feel like a city of skyscrapers?

Upon entering the building, she found that the inside was equally impressive. The lobby's ceiling extended high above her, and everything was strictly professional. Her eyes scanned the room and soon located an available secretary's desk. As she approached it her footsteps echoed on the immaculate marble floor.

The young secretary donned an expensive suit and her long brown hair fell about her shoulders. After she finished filling out some papers with a flourish of her hand, she glanced up at Elena once and turned back to her work. Elena, feeling self-conscious, stood up a little straighter and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, ma'am--" she began, but stopped once the woman again looked up with an irritated expression on her face.

"How can I help you?" She spat, eyeing Elena's uniform and sending her confidence into oblivion. After pausing and choosing her words carefully, she replied, "A man ordered me to come here yesterday and gave me this." She handed over the paper and prayed that she had sounded more self-assured than she felt.

She secretary took the paper from her gingerly as if it carried a disease and unfolded it using her long, manicured nails. After reading it her face twisted into a sneer and she crumpled it in her fist, handing it back to her in the same, haughty fashion. "I'm afraid you have no business here," she said in a lofty tone. The feeling of suspicion that she had felt earlier returned to her. _I knew this was a joke. _She bit her lip, trying her hardest to keep her poise and to not let her short-fused anger get the best of her. "Who even gave that to you? A prankster at your school?"

Something in the tone of the woman's voice infuriated her. Before she could stop herself she seethed, "No, it was a redheaded man with scars on his face that was wearing a suit. He didn't say what his name was, okay? But he told me to come here and said something about a director." Whatever she had just said seemed to strike a chord with the secretary. In an instant the phone on her desk was in her hands and she was dialing a number. While waiting for the receiving end to answer, she tapped her fingers on the desk and glared at Elena, albeit a little warily.

"Yes, this is Annette. There is a young girl here by the name of," she looked impatiently at Elena, and she quickly muttered her name to her, "Elena Meyers. She claims that she has reason to speak with you. I already attempted to excuse her, but—" The line apparently went dead. Slowly, the woman hung up the phone, flabbergasted beyond belief.

"Take a seat," she mumbled, gesturing to the many empty seats in the room. Elena obeyed, now more confused than ever. The secretary glimpsed around the room a few times, and eventually her gaze landed on the group of elevators down an endless hallway. Her eyes widened when the doors slid open and let out a man with raven-colored hair.

Elena gaped at him as he approached the secretary's desk, finding that she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. He wore a dark blue suit and walked with obvious confidence and purpose, standing tall and firm. His was clearly from Wutai, and his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail using a strip of white cloth. His eyes were dark almonds, and he wore a frown on his lips. But was struck her the most about him, and in the oddest way, was that he only appeared to be a few years older than her, yet he had the semblance of a man that was wise beyond his years.

When he reached the desk he leaned in and muttered something to the woman, and she pointed at Elena from across the room. When he turned and walked toward her, she stood up and straightened her clothing, feeling immediately under pressure from the attractive man's gaze.

"Elena Meyers?" His voice was obviously authoritative, but had only a trace of an accent, despite his appearance. She nodded her head vigorously in response, her now nervous eyes meeting his. He returned a single nod. "We've been expecting you. Follow me." She did so without hesitation, tagging along with him to the group of elevators.

Once inside, the man pushed the button for the 65th floor and the doors closed, leaving only the two of them in the elevator. _65th floor? _She remembered the scrap of paper. _Well I guess that makes sense. _She prepared herself for a long ride.

There was a deafening silence in the elevator, and realizing this, the man spoke. "I suppose you have no idea why you're here." It was a statement, not a question. "Over the last few weeks, we've been a little shorthanded around here. And what you did last night was enough for us to consider you for this position." A job? _That's_ why she was here?Elena had been leaning towards the notion from before that she was in trouble. She felt compelled to ask what position the man was talking about, but she couldn't find her voice.

The elevator stopped about twenty floors up, letting more people in. Some carried briefcases, others wore lab coats, but all came across to her as important. A few more buttons were pressed, and some of the people spoke to each other in hushed tones about business matters. Elena entertained herself by watching the small light on the button panel ascend with each new floor. The group dissipated as the floor numbers increased, and eventually she and the Wutain man were the elevator's sole occupants.

"I'm not sure I completely understood you before, sir," Elena began, after finally finding her voice again. The man glanced over, his hands folded behind his back. "You're here only for a simple interview, nothing more." Something in his tone told Elena that the man wasn't about to disclose what the interview was for. As the elevators doors opened, she realized with a start that they had reached the 65th floor.

The man started toward the doors, turning to her once they had both exited. "My name is Tseng, by the way. I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier." Elena smiled a little, glad that this man wasn't nearly as mysterious as the redhead from the previous night. _Nearly_. She followed him down an endless hallway not unlike the one she had seen in the lobby, with the exception of numerous walnut doors on both sides of her. It weaved around, turning many corners and finally opening up into a larger space. A large door that seemed grander than the previous ones stood at the end. Tseng pulled it open and gestured for her to go before him.

The room felt luxurious, yet it was also plain. Some shelves on one of the cherry wood-paneled walls displayed many old texts, while the other walls were occupied by filing cabinets. On the far wall, floor length windows revealed an impressive view of Midgar, one in which every building looked like a speck of dust. She took a seat in front of a large mahogany desk after he motioned for her to do so. Tseng himself sat in the office chair across from her, bringing forth some papers from a file on the corner of the desk. After he made a few notes, he began, "Are you the daughter of Gregory and Caroline Meyers?"

"Yes, sir." Somehow Elena knew that this wasn't going to be a typical job interview.

"You attend Midgar High, correct?" She nodded. Tseng flipped through a few of the papers. "Yet, your father is employed at the Shinra Military Academy?" He continued, raising an eyebrow, as if expecting an explanation for her absence from the Academy. Elena was lost for a moment. Did he expect her to tell him her life story?

"Yes, that is correct. My parents felt it best that I attend Midgar High." She hoped her answer was sufficient. He took in her response and nodded, seeming to catch her drift. "That explains why we haven't seen you around here before." She remained silent, not knowing how to respond to that.

The questions continued, focusing on almost every subject of her life. Did she play any sports, have any hobbies, interests, goals? But they became increasingly personal. What was her opinion on the current happenings of Shinra? Did she have any past or present relationships? Had she ever resorted to violence when in anger? What did she think of her parents? It felt more like an interrogation than an interview. Elena answered to the best of her ability, but being under the constant gaze of Tseng made her feel that she wasn't giving the right answers, even though most of the questions had no right or wrong answer.

Finally, Tseng stopped writing and gathered his notes, putting them inside the folder. "I believe that's all. Do you have any questions?" Elena immediately thought again of the question she'd been meaning to ask in the elevator. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "What exactly is the job you're considering me for?" She slapped herself mentally, wishing she wasn't so loose-lipped.

Tseng's dark eyes met hers for a moment, and he let out a melodious laugh. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to ask that. If it were me, that would have been the first thing I asked." _Well. _Now she felt incredibly dense, as if not asking that question before was the biggest mistake she'd made during the interview. What was it about the man that made her feel that everything she did was wrong? He continued, "You were being interviewed for a position in the Department of Administrative Research. The Investigative Division, that is." _The what?_

"Oh," she squeaked, nodding her head and hoping to convince Tseng that she understood the foreign language that had come out of his mouth. He smiled a disarming smile at her that seemed to find humor in something unfamiliar to her. She stood rather clumsily and walked toward the door. "Thank you for your time, sir," she added politely before closing the door behind her.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__So I hope everyone enjoyed this one! I think this one went pretty well...Sorry again for taking so long! And please review! =)_


	5. Diverged

_**Author's Note: **__Once again, I feel I have no legitimate excuse...I swear I'm the slowest author alive...this may be my shortest author's note to date O.O Well anyway, I hope it's worth the wait for you guys! As always, I'm grateful to anyone who reviews, especially those who have so far! I love you guys, you make my life!! =)_

_** Disclaimer: **__Absolutely not._

* * *

**:. Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter Five: Diverged**

_Did they get you to trade  
Your heroes for ghosts?  
Hot ashes for trees?  
Hot air to a cool breeze?  
Cold comfort for change?  
Did you exchange  
A walk on part in the war,  
For a lead role in a cage?_

- - - - - - -

The maze of hallways that had taken her to the office didn't seem complicated when she was with Tseng. They'd reached his office in under a minute. But now, the 65th floor was a labyrinth of endless hallways and doors bearing polished name plates. It was as if the architect of Shinra Inc. had purposely arranged the offices in the most confusing way possible...for some reason, she didn't doubt it. _It would make sense to make people who don't belong here get lost, _she mused.

Losing track of how many turns she had taken, she began to walk aimlessly. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the metallic door of the elevator at the end of the umpteenth hallway she had been traveling along, shining like beacons of light in contrast to the starkness of white walls surrounding her.

Sighing with relief, she pushed the button and entered. She leaned against the walls in the corner, feeling her body being dragged slowly to the ground, suddenly very heavy. It was only then that she allowed thoughts concerning the interview to flood her mind. By the way the interview had gone, she doubted she would ever see the inside of Shinra again. _Take a good look, Elena...it may be the last time. _Was it that Tseng wasn't interested in what she had to say, or was she just not giving the right answers? She'd wished that she had more experience with job interviews, or maybe that she had been given more time to think about what she was saying. And it was incredibly frustrating that Tseng was impossible to read; she couldn't gauge any reaction from him after she'd answered any of his questions.

If the ride up to the 65th floor was long, then the ride down to the ground floor lasted for an eternity. She fiddled with her fingers, tried to see her reflection in one of the metallic walls, anything to keep herself busy and to allow herself to forget what had just transpired. No others joined her on the way down, so the only other sound she heard was the hum of the elevator. Putting her head against one of the polished walls, Elena closed her eyes and drifted off until the ding of the elevator made her eyes jolt open again.

She was greeted by the ever-present whitewashed walls, and she hurried down the long hallway until it opened up into the familiar lobby. Across the room, Elena spotted the secretary from before, immersed in some paperwork. But when Elena began to walk toward the exit, the secretary's eyes darted up at her. Before the woman could say anything to her, she picked up her pace down the now immeasurable distance to the door and didn't turn around, yet she could feel the woman's eyes piercing her back like knives.

* * * * *

The clouds that hung low in the sky on her drive home had transformed into a full-fledged storm. Just the walk from the curb where she parked to the front door resulted in her getting soaked. After fumbling with her keys for some indeterminable amount of time, she jerked open the front door and bolted inside, breathing a sigh of relief. She glanced at a window on the other side of the foyer. The street wasn't even visible because of the rain that pelted against the window. Forget storm; this was a hurricane.

She heard the distant sound of the TV coming from the living room and knew that her father was watching the newscast, as he did every day. Not that there was much of a point in watching it. Elena's gaze fell on the chair in the corner of the room, where the books she'd brought home earlier were stacked rather precariously, still untouched. She could just see the hours and hours of homework staring her in the face. But, against her will, she picked up the stack and tottered over to the stairs, taking them up to her room. She dropped the burdensome load on her desk and gave them a disgusted look.

Now, what to do? The original plan, and the entire point of her moving the books, was that she was going to do some work, but she'd changed her mind somewhere between the chair in the foyer and her desk. Well, there was always music. She turned on the radio on her shelf and flopped into a chair.

The song that filled the room was an upbeat version of a track from _Loveless. _She closed her eyes and gave a little smile. She couldn't help but admit that she enjoyed the frivolous, carefree plots of cheesy romances; they helped her to forget the troubles of the world around her, if only for a while. The song ended, and the radio DJ announced that the station was giving away free, front row seat tickets to the show, if a caller answered a trivia question correctly. Just then, the phone downstairs gave a harsh ring.

Assuming her parents were out of its reach, Elena hurried down the stairs toward the phone. But when she reached the foot of the stairs, she heard her father's voice speaking to someone on the other end.

"Yes, this is he." A pause. "You don't mean...you're not....of the Turks, right?" His voice was growing more anxious. "Where is she?" A longer pause.

"How can you not know? And what do you mean, 'more important matters'? What other business do you have with this family other than-" He stopped, and Elena's eyes grew wide. _What was going on?_ She quickly rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, finding her father with a disconcerted expression on his face and his hand gripping a nearby countertop. His back was to her, and he didn't acknowledge Elena's presence. "How do you know of her?" He hissed, his tone darkening.

From across the room, a frightened and bewildered Elena asked, "Dad, what's going on? Who is it?" He whirled around in surprise, and putting a hand over the receiver, he spoke evenly, "Elena, go to your room." The tension was clearly tangible, becoming heavier by the second.

"I can assure you, _sir, _no matter is important enough to allow you to speak with her! You cannot expect me to let the same mistake happen twice!" He bellowed.

Elena gasped and felt her face redden. "This is about me, isn't it? Dad, give me the phone!" But before she could say any more, the phone was hung up and it clattered to the floor.

"Sit down, Elena." She did as she was told, feeling the impending, inevitable argument. "I was just speaking with a man named Tseng. Do you know who this man is?" By the manner in which he was purposely subduing his angry tone, she knew that he knew the answer to his own question. She tried to remain calm, swallowing a lump in her throat and nodding.

He continued, "Do you know what this man does for a living?" Elena thought for a second, letting the pieces come together in her mind. The man had said that he was interviewing her for the "Investigative Division of the Department of Administrative Research"...she was about to open her mouth and tell her father this, but she stopped herself, recalling what had just occurred minutes before.

"_You don't mean...you're not...of the Turks, right?" _Suddenly everything made perfect sense. The questions during the interview, Tseng's indifferent manner, the redhead from the alley...did Tseng really think she could be a _Turk_? And the phone call from a moment ago...it _was_ for her! He wanted to speak with her, and her father didn't allow it! She felt anger flare up within her, and she stood up abruptly.

"Answer me!" He hollered. "How did you come into contact with him? Or anyone associated with that damned company?!"

"Why does it matter how it happened? They think I can be a Turk; that's all that matters!" Elena yelled back. "For once in my life, someone thinks I'm capable of being something, and you have to ruin it for me!"

"Will someone tell me what this is about?" Her mother, hearing the argument, had come running into the room, visibly startled by what she was hearing.

"It's nothing, dear," Her father assured her unconvincingly, his enraged gaze at Elena not flickering or faltering.

"No, of course it's not," Elena spat at him, giving him one last icy glare before leaving the room.

* * * * *

The door to her room was locked, and she was in utter darkness, with the exception of the little light from the streetlamps that leaked in through the rain-spattered window. She lay face down on her bed, trying to let her anger pass and to think logically. _What am I going to do?_

She considered what options she had. She could ignore the entire situation, and let her life continue on as it had been. As normally as possible. She immediately banished that thought. But what other choice did she have? Her only contact with Shinra had just been cut off. With a heavy heart, she dug around in her pocket until she found the small, now crumpled piece of paper, her only reminder of what had almost been. She held it up to the window, unraveling it and gazing at it despondently. A tear fell from one of her eyes. _Why were things always so unfair? _

She was about to discard it, but when she gave it one last look, she stopped. She held it even closer to the window and saw that instead of the address and floor number that were written on it before, there was something else in its place. Turning on a nearby light, she let her eyes adjust before reading it again. It was a phone number. She flipped over the paper. The address from before was still there, although even harder to read from the wrinkles that now covered it. It was easy to see how she'd missed the number earlier; the writing was barely visible, even under a direct source of light.

She didn't hesitate for even a second. Squinting her eyes and praying to every deity she knew of, she picked up her cell phone and dialed the number. Her hand was trembling as she held it, listening to the seemingly endless ringing. She closed her eyes and attempted to steady her breathing.

"Hello?" A male voice answered. She gasped. The voice continued, "Who is this?"

She cleared her throat. "E-Elena, sir," she stammered. There was no doubt in her mind; she knew by his voice that she'd called Tseng. She stared at the paper in her other hand, mentally praising the memory of the redhead that now seemed stronger than ever.

"How do you know my cell phone number, Elena?" He didn't sound angry, simply confused.

"The paper...a redheaded man gave it to me on the night that-" She was cut off.

"Ah, I understand," he replied calmly. "It's a good thing he thought ahead. I never imagined he would ever do me a favor..." he trailed off. "If I would have known that your father was so opposed to my way of thinking, I would have made a greater effort to contact you otherwise. I apologize."

"But why did you want to talk to me in the first place?" She asked.

"To tell you that my coworkers and I have decided to offer you a position as part of our team. With the proper training and preliminary measures, of course." Elena eyes went wide, and she almost dropped the phone. "What?"

"Do you understand what I am saying?" Elena nodded frantically, before realizing that he couldn't see her. "Yes," she answered quickly.

"Do you need any time to consider the offer?"

"No." She didn't need to consider anything. Something was telling her that this was the change that she had been searching for.

"Are you sure?" He sounded hesitant. "This isn't the type of job that I would impose on anyone. I'm not sure how much you know about our line of work, but I can assure you that it definitely isn't meant for the frail of mind."

"I'm positive," she said without a second thought. She was beaming.

There was a pause. "I'm afraid your word isn't nearly enough. Would you be opposed to meeting me again?" He didn't trust her?

"No, not at all." She knew her voiced sounded uncertain.

"It's nothing to fear, only one of those preliminary measures I mentioned earlier," he reassured.

With that, he told her to meet him in Sector 8 the following afternoon, and gave her the name of the street that she was to find, which train she should take, and any other pertinent details before she could make any inquiries. When he finished, he asked if she had any questions. There was only one...

"What about my parents?" She asked, knowing that they wouldn't approve of her meeting with him.

He exhaled. "Just follow my instructions from before. Don't worry about what they think."

"But sir-"

"I have everything taken care of, Elena," he interrupted briskly.

"Okay," she sighed and bowed her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, sir." She hung up the phone. Glancing out the window again, she noted that the rain had stopped.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Ahh, this chapter's finally done!! That was exhausting to write! I don't think this was one of my favorites, either...and by the way, I apologize for making Elena seem a bit emo at the beginning of the last scene. She'll be her peppy, loose-lipped self in due time :) But let me know what you think anyway! =) Reviews are greatly appreciated!_


	6. One Last Look

_**Author's Note: **__I'm back! With the longest chapter to date! YAY! It's almost twice as long as usual, so I hope that keeps everyone happy since I know it's been a while...sorry guys. Oh, and as a little side note, I apologize to everyone for all of the previous chapters lacking any kind of spacers in between scene changes. Apparently asterisks don't appear on this site...I just felt really bad about that since I'm so anal about stuff like that when I'm reading other people's stories and I don't even realize that I'm a complete hypocrite...gah. Anyway, I marked them differently this time so hopefully they'll show up and no one will be confused! Let me know if, for some reason, they don't. So yeah, on with the story!_

_**Disclaimer: **__Wait, let me check...uh, no._

* * *

**:. ****Sheer Equality.:**

**Chapter Six: One Last Look**

_And both that morning equally lay  
__In leaves no step had trodden black.  
__Oh, I kept the first for another day!  
__Yet knowing how way leads on to way,  
__I doubted if I should ever come back._

**080808080**

Elena hopped off the train, allowing herself a minute to stretch her stiff limbs. She'd forgotten how long it took to travel long distances across the city. And it didn't help that she'd picked a bad time to travel; she had completely forgotten that tonight was the grand opening of _Loveless._ The train was packed with eager people, predominately women of all ages, occasionally dragging along a reluctant male.

One couple in particular had been sitting behind her on the train. It was clear to anyone that set eyes upon them that the man wasn't enjoying the ride; however, it was also clear that he obeyed his wife unquestionably. After taking in the woman's frightening appearance, Elena couldn't blame him. And after listening to the nonstop, relatively offensive drivel spewing from the woman's mouth, Elena was certain that the entire company aboard the train would keep the woman's husband in their prayers that night.

As she watched the rather unfortunate couple make their way toward the theater, she tried to get some bearing on where she was. Under normal circumstances, navigating through Sector 8 wasn't particularly difficult, but the swarming crowd coming from every direction certainly complicated things a little. Slowly, Elena attempted to make her way through the crowd that had gathered in the main square of the Sector, trying to be as discreet and polite as possible. But once she caught sight of the looming clock tower nearby, she realized she was late. Soon, civility was thrown to the wind. After all, no one else seemed to be showing her the same courtesy.

Finally, after pushing and shoving her way out of the square, she found herself on the correct street, amongst a smaller, yet more condensed crowd. She stood on her tip-toes, peering over the many heads in search of the dark-suited Turk. Although many of the event's attendants were well-dressed, none of them possessed the familiar stoic expression and raven-colored hair that she was attempting to locate. She returned to her feet, feeling impatient. Although Elena wouldn't deem herself a claustrophobic, she never did like crowds. She always had a sense of insecurity in crowds, feeling that something dangerous would catch her unawares.

For a brief moment she considered calling the Turk, but discarded the idea once she decided that it would be impossible to hear over the noise of the crowd anyway. Elena sighed. All she could do at this point was wait.

Not a second later, she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. Spinning around, she was greeted by a pair of commanding, yet warm almond eyes.

"Sir!" She almost squeaked out. One of these days, she was going to learn to sneak up on people like that. Probably one of those Turk instincts she'd heard about. She vaguely wondered what sort of other abnormal abilities came with the job...perhaps the uncanny ability to look drop-dead gorgeous in a simple suit...

"...If you would just follow me, we could—are you listening to me, Elena?" Tseng gave her an odd sideways glance, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Yes, of course, sir. I just thought I saw someone I knew," she lied. She was almost certain he didn't buy it. Yep, it was official; Elena could now be crowned queen of horrific first impressions.

She swallowed a lump in her throat before changing the subject, "Where exactly are we going again? Why not headquarters?"

"In a way, where we're going is still headquarters. Sort of our home away from home," he explained while they journeyed through the sea of people. It was ironic how he made shoving people out of his way while speaking to her at the same time seem graceful. "I can't say much more about it right now." Elena nodded in understanding.

Finally, once they'd reached the crowd's edge, Tseng led Elena down the narrow street, opposite the direction of the theater. Stealing a quick glance behind her, Elena briefly wished that she was part of the wild, screaming crowd. It was a strange feeling considering she'd never had the level of interest for _Loveless _that many others did. She would clearly be out of place around all of its adoring fans. But then again, she'd probably rather be anywhere than with a man she'd met only a day before, going to who-knows-where. Such a thought only served to remind her how frightened she really was. She could only imagine what was in store for her later if she survived whatever the hell she was getting herself into now.

The buildings and street lamps that hugged the street eventually thinned and dissipated, leaving the two on the outskirts of the plate. Elena found it strange seeing the city when it wasn't doused with its usual share of light pollution. It felt peaceful. Well, almost. Her current situation pretty much cancelled out the feeling anyway.

Although the buildings grew more and more distant, they still managed to cast shadows on the already dark street. It was nearly impossible to see anything, and Tseng's primarily dark choice of wardrobe blended in perfectly with their surroundings. Sure, it made sense, but it also meant that it was much easier for her to lose him. The only things her eyes could follow were his crisp, white dress shirt and his pale, milky skin.

Their lonely path took them down a few rarely used backstreets, occasionally making an unexpected turn. Elena decided to make use of the rather lengthy walk by mentally preparing herself. She ran positive mantras through her mind, as well as countless answers to any question Tseng could ask in the hopes that she wouldn't be caught off guard again.

Suddenly, Tseng stopped walking. They had ended up in a decent-sized parking lot with what appeared to be an abandoned train station at the opposite end. The entire atmosphere of their location was undeniably gloomy and particularly eerie, and it certainly wasn't alleviating Elena's fear one bit. Internally, she hoped she didn't look the way she felt.

However, Tseng seemed to take note of her hesitation and wordlessly took the lead. After a few moments of standing in place, Elena welled up enough guts to continue after him, soon falling into step next to him. "This isn't it...is it?" She asked, her gaze switching from the rundown building to his coffee brown eyes.

"Charming place, isn't it?" He gave a wry smile before continuing, "No, this place is exactly what it appears to be, believe it or not. It's probably the most logical way to reach where we're going, without drawing attention to ourselves, of course." By this time they'd reached the doors of the station and pulled them open, emitting a painful creak.

The interior was pretty predictable and not unlike the exterior. The room and floor were covered in grime and smelled of must, which caused Elena to start sneezing the second she entered the room. It was poorly lit by an old chandelier, which in its day Elena surmised would have looked stunning. But now it was covered in dust and only contained two working bulbs that flickered every now and again. As they crossed the mostly bare space, she noticed a bulletin board hung to her right, listing aged train schedules and departure times. A shiver ran down her spine, and she wasn't sure whether to attribute it to the temperature of the room or something else.

They followed the path next to the track around the corner and Elena gasped. Now in full view was a train exactly like the ones seen all over Midgar. It was far from luxurious, but it definitely stuck out like a sore thumb among all of the cobwebs of the station. Standing next to it was a short, plump man who seemed mildly irritated. Tseng gestured for Elena to make her way toward one of the open cab doors while he took off at a brisk pace toward the stranger.

She took a quick peek at Tseng and the man before entering the car. The man shook Tseng's hand, still looking miffed. But it was clear to Elena that he knew Tseng and wasn't going to lash out at him, due to either respect or fear...she couldn't tell which. He cheered up a little once Tseng handed over a palmful of gil, giving Tseng a nod before entering at the head of the train. Elena then boosted herself up into the cab and took a seat, pretending like she didn't just witness the exchange.

Tseng entered a few moments later, taking the seat across from her but refraining from leaning back at all, remaining straight as a board against the seat. "It's strange...the guy's been working for Shinra for years now, and he hasn't changed one bit. Still hates dealing with Turks...although it's kind of ironic, considering we're the only ones he can take orders from," he said, looking pointedly at Elena while saying the last bit, as if giving some sort of warning. She was a little taken aback. He didn't seriously think she was going to attempt finding her way back here in the future, did he? In fact, Elena had been worrying that she wouldn't even be able to find her way home. But it did raise a question in her mind...

"So then...if it's so important that this place stays a secret, why even bring me here in the first place?" Elena asked, watching from the window as the train pulled slowly out of the station.

Tseng sighed and looked away. "There's only so much I can tell you about that. But what I can tell you is that we follow the same procedure for any future member of the Turks. The idea is that we keep everyone as far away from Shinra as we can, with the least amount of contact possible, in order to ensure maximum security. Of course, we need a place for the application process to take place, ideally somewhere that is nowhere near any prying eyes...and this is what we have decided was best." He paused for a moment. "Although your case was a little different. We had limited records of you due to your lack of previous Shinra schooling; plus, because we approached you, I wasn't certain of your desire to become part of our team. So my colleagues and I thought it best that I meet you in person first to iron out some minor details before continuing with the normal procedure. But I will admit; I was less than pleased when I was informed that you were told to meet me in my own office." He frowned a little at the last bit.

"But I wouldn't ever put the company at risk, so no worries...right?" She said nervously, daring to meet his gaze. He smirked a little.

"No, you certainly wouldn't want to do that." There was no mistaking the dangerous undertone. Elena blinked a few times, not certain that she heard him right.

"Looks like we're here," he continued as they felt the train come to an abrupt halt in the middle of a tunnel, as if the previous conversation had never taken place. It truly was amazing; if Elena had been introduced to the man under ordinary circumstances, she would have thought him to be the perfect gentleman. But the more she talked to him, the more obvious his career choice became to her. And the more time she spent with him, the less she felt that she knew him.

She glanced around the train, quickly realizing his absence and followed him out the still-open cab door.

Once outside, she found him speaking to the conductor again, apparently giving some sort of instructions. The man grumbled something unintelligible back and soon clambered back inside the train. It was then that Elena noticed that the train had stopped in the middle of a tunnel.

"Here?" She asked, utterly baffled, watching Tseng continue up a narrow path in the tunnel until he reached a small alcove in the wall.

"Like I said, away from prying eyes," he said shortly, the shadow of a grin flitting across his lips.

She watched as he pulled out his I.D. card and swiped it along a device on the wall that she knew she wouldn't have noticed on her own, as it was hidden between several loose stones. And in a few moments the small section of wall moved to the side to reveal a hidden segment of tunnel. Elena just stared, completely dumbfounded. She half-expected Tseng to reveal to her that she was being filmed for an upcoming movie right then and there.

Once they'd reached the end of the long tunnel, the ceiling grew higher and Elena soon found herself in a toned-down version of the Shinra Company's lobby. It was complete with the usual marble tiled floors, blindingly white walls, and black countered front desks which were, at the moment, surprisingly left unattended. The longest wall in the room was branded with the familiar red diamond Shinra logo, and a large, ornate fountain quietly trickled in one of the more remote corners. On second thought, maybe it wasn't that toned-down...

Tseng started down one of the hallways located near the fountain, with Elena following close behind. On both sides of the hallway wall were countless portraits of men and women, wearing suits akin to Tseng's. As they went along, Elena tried to read as many of the names and captions as she could. From what she could tell, each portrait included the person's name, followed by their life span, the years they had served Shinra, and their weapon of choice, all embossed in gold lettering underneath. Some were grayscale, others were in vibrant color, but none of them were smiling.

The portraits became more recent toward the end of the hall. Elena managed to catch a glimpse of a familiar blonde with heavy set bangs and bright blue eyes...Rosalind.

Elena's eyes darkened a little at the sight of her. She knew that she had seen the exact picture before...in fact, it was still on proud display in their living room.

Lost in her thoughts, Elena only saw bits and pieces of the rest of the pictures...that was, until a flash of bright red in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Glancing back quickly, she found that the flash of red was actually someone's hair...could it be...?

But Tseng happened to be a fast-paced walker and Elena was having enough trouble keeping up with him as it was. So to her chagrin, she never had a chance to figure out the name of what was sure to be the red-headed stranger from her earlier _adventure._ And after the way the previous conversations with Tseng had gone over, she wasn't in any position to start asking him more questions.

Suddenly Tseng stopped at a walnut door and pulled it open, signaling for Elena to follow. Inside were a few office desks arranged against the walls, with a large table and chairs in the middle of the room. In two of the desks in one corner of the room were a boy and girl, around Elena in age and similar enough for her to assume that they were related. Tseng retrieved a stack of papers from the table in the middle and turned to her, dropping the heavy load into her hands. "Pick any seat you want and get started."

Elena tried to hide her disgust, but it didn't escape anyone in the room. "Don't worry; it's not as bad as it looks," the boy piped up, his own stack sitting in front of him, more than halfway completed.

Tseng nodded. "Most of it is just simple questions that we need to have on file or papers to sign. And the good news is you won't see any more of it for another six years or so." Elena had to smile a little at that.

Choosing a seat near the other two, she settled herself and got to work, looking up for a moment when Tseng left the room. The first twenty or so papers just asked for basic information and only took a few minutes to complete. But the next batch got a little more complicated, all of them filled with confusing statements that required her signature. She knew it was never a good idea to sign something that she didn't understand and may not even agree with, but she didn't have the time to read through all of the small print. She considered asking one of the other two, but both were completely immersed in their own work, flipping through the papers at inhuman speed. She deduced from that that they obviously didn't seem concerned with any of the fine print and followed suit.

Many of the papers dealt with her previous education and some even asked for explanations of what her classes were like. Others were easier, asking the same questions that Tseng had asked during the interview. Assuming that what she said in his office what good enough to get her where she was, she answered them the same way.

She was in the room for about a half an hour before the two siblings finished theirs. Without a word, they both stood, placed their stacks on the center table, and left the room. Elena continued rifling through the work, vaguely wondering where Tseng had disappeared to. Internally, she hoped that the papers were filed immediately after she finished and never looked at again.

Finally, after over an hour of writing, she had completed all but one of the papers, the written statement that validated that she agreed to all of previous papers. As she completed it and signed her name at the bottom for the last time, Tseng ambled into the room. He briefly looked over the papers that had been set on the table by the other two while Elena gathered her own papers and laid them next to the other two stacks. Noticing them, he said, "Good. Follow me, there's just one more thing."

Together, they left the room and continued further down the hallway. At the very end there stood a large set of double doors with small glass panes. Once they were on the other side of the doors, Elena discovered that they had entered a gym. Most of the walls and floors were covered with dark blue padding, and some punching bags hung from the high ceiling on the far side of the room. In the opposite corner, there was a glass wall that sectioned off part of the gym with exercise equipment on the other side. Elena gulped. There was definitely no mention of _this _in any previous conversations!

In the middle of the padded section of the gym were the boy and girl she had seen earlier, engaged in the middle of a sparring match. Both seemed to know what they were doing, executing adequate defense and well timed punches. But in a flash, the boy had managed to bring both of the girl's hands behind her back and pushed her to the ground face first.

"Very well. I've seen enough," Tseng called to them from beside Elena. They both stopped and stood up, brushing off their clothing. Turning to Elena, he asked, "Are you ready?"

She knew what she _wanted_ to say, but instead of dissenting, she just nodded. "Good. You will spar with him, then," Tseng cocked his head toward the boy who had just won.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. You didn't say I would have to do this twice! Besides, I don't even know her!"

Tseng brushed off his contempt and replied, "I hope you don't expect to only fight with those you know in the future. If so, you won't be doing too much fighting." The boy fell silent, sulking a little.

Tseng gestured for Elena to join the boy on the mat. "Well, whenever you're ready, then."

Slowly, Elena stepped onto the mat and walked over to meet the boy. Before they began, Elena asked quietly, "Hey, do you know if this affects us getting in?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't think so. I heard we're already in," he whispered back. Elena grinned. "Don't think that I'm gonna go easy on you though," he said lightheartedly, grinning back.

"I wasn't counting on it. Same goes for you, by the way," she added quickly, catching him off guard by initiating the fight with a kick. He swiftly ducked out of the day, countering her with a series of rapid punches, all of which she blocked. Working her way to his side, Elena delivered another kick and managed to make contact, causing him to stumble back a little. He recovered quickly, responding by sending a high kick to Elena ribs. She started to fall backwards but caught herself before her back touched the ground, using her hands to immediately turn her body around and propelled herself back up by kicking through the air. She felt her leg hit him in the shoulder in the process, and once she was on her feet again, she found that he had actually lost his balance and fell to the ground face first. She tried to reach him before he stood again, but she wasn't quick enough, and soon found herself blocking more of his punches.

The fight continued for a few minutes, the two evenly matched. Elena was nearly out of breath, but she knew that Tseng hadn't moved from his spot and was still calmly observing the fight. She wasn't sure if she could believe the boy when he said the fight didn't matter. He seemed honest and friendly enough, but it very well could have been a trick to get her to lose the match. And she promised herself and her pride that she wouldn't lose the fight in front of Tseng...even if it didn't count for anything.

After a while, Elena discovered the boy's weak point: he didn't guard his left side as closely as his right because he was right-handed. So, conjuring up a plan, she sent a combination of perfectly timed kicks and jabs that tended toward his left and eventually caught him off guard enough to give him a firm kick. He flinched a little and tried to start toward her, but she tripped him before he could come close enough. As soon as he hit the ground, Elena pinned his arms to either side of him, barely able to restrain them. After a few seconds, Tseng's voice reached her ears, "Good. That's enough."

"Damn," the boy muttered from the ground. She relinquished her grip, standing and rubbing her hands together a little to clear them of sweat. The boy picking himself up quickly, extending his hand to her, which she shook weakly. "Hey, good match. Hope it won't be the last."

Elena nodded. "You too," she breathed out, completely exhausted.

Soon, they were joined by Tseng and the other girl. "Not bad. Although you have much to learn," he said. "Of course, it's only a small taste of what you're in for. But it's a good way to begin."

"Does that mean we're all in?" The girl asked, her eyes brightening.

He nodded. "Well, it would have been cruel of me to give you all that paperwork if you weren't," he said, cracking a rare smile. "But don't get used to any kind of special treatment. You may be training to become a Turk, but all of the military start on the same level. You must first prove your worth in order to reach the top." He paused for a moment. "The road isn't an easy one, I can promise that. So I'm giving each of you one last chance to back out now, if you don't deem this a good way to spend the next six years of your life."

The siblings shook their heads, stating they were both in for life. Tseng looked to Elena. "You are sure as well?"

"Positive," she replied.

"Good. I will give you a day to prepare your belongings and whatever you need to begin your stay at the Academy. After that, be ready to start classes on the day of your arrival. You'll have quite a bit of catching up to do, so it's easiest to begin as soon as possible. I've already arranged special sessions for you three and a few others in order to do so," he explained, leading them back down the hallway and through the lobby.

Once they had reached the end of the tunnel and found the train again, Tseng told them to board it, while he remained outside. "The train will take you back to the Sector 8 square. I imagine you can find your way home from there?" They all nodded. "Very well. I hope to see the three of you again as Turks. Good luck." And with that, the doors closed and the train pulled out of the station.

**080808080**

Elena searched through all of her dresser drawers one last time, making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. Finding them empty, she then pirouetted around the entire room as well, checking her closet, underneath her bed, anywhere that may have hidden something that she needed. After a few minutes, she was satisfied. Turning to look at the many suitcases that she had piled onto her bed, she vaguely wondered if she would be able to fit all of it into her car; making two trips was _definitely _out of the question.

It was still hard for her to believe that in less than 24 hours, she would be at the Academy. It felt good to think about, but it also scared her a little. Being at the Academy meant she would hardly ever be at home, which to her was a good thing, but it also meant that she was basically starting over in school. New teachers, new people...she wasn't even sure if any of the material she had learned at her old school was even applicable to what she would soon be learning there.

But that wasn't even the biggest dilemma at the moment. What she was _really _concerned about was how she was going to get to the Academy from her house without her parents knowing. There was no way she could get a decent amount of sleep and still wake up, get through her morning routine, and load all of the suitcases in the car without someone waking up before she was done. Maybe it was a better idea to just tell them she was leaving tomorrow and go, no matter how hard they tried to stop her...

She thought all of this through as she attempted to zipper the first suitcase, finding that she had completely stuffed it. Since she wasn't willing to give up anything in the suitcase, she climbed on top of it, pressing her weight down on it and just barely managed to close it.

She then started on the next suitcase, but stopped when she heard voices coming from downstairs. Running to her door, she crept across the second floor and stopped short at the wall next to the staircase. From where she was, she could tell that her parents' voices were coming from the kitchen and that they seemed distraught about something.

"But we can't just let this happen," her mother said, "I think it would be a very big mistake."

"Dear, we don't have a choice in this," her father replied, sounding defeated. "They never give anyone a choice."

"Well then we have to fight it."

Her father gave a bitter laugh. "_Us, _fighting against _them_? It would only get worse, then."

"I still don't understand how any of this is legal." Her mother let out a long sigh.

"Oh, I know for a fact it isn't."

"And why are they so desperate to enroll our daughter anyway? Don't they have enough students there right now?"

"Not as many as they used to. I suppose they want as many as they can get."

"But that's no reason to go around threatening to fire their own staff!"

There was silence for a while. _So that was it, _Elena thought. _That's _what Tseng meant when he said he would take care of everything. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or not. Sure, now she didn't have to break the news to them that she was leaving or attempt sneaking out, but she couldn't help feeling guilty about everything, even though it really wasn't her fault.

Finally, her father spoke again. "It's the worst threat to this family that they could make, besides actually killing someone. That's why they did it." She heard his fist pound the table. "I hate that man! Those Turks are nothing but trouble."

Slowly, Elena moved away from the wall she was pressed against and snuck back into her room. She didn't need to hear anymore.

After a few minutes of trying to close all of the other suitcases, she heard her door creak open from behind her. Jumping a little, she quickly spun around and found her mother standing in the doorway.

Her first instinct was to try and hide all of the suitcases on her bed, but she soon remembered that she didn't have to anymore. Her mother's eyes immediately fell on them, but they soon left, instead looking around the mostly-bare room. "Were you going to tell us that you're leaving?" She asked sadly. Elena remained silent. Her mother shook her head. "It doesn't really matter anyway; we already knew." She took a seat on an empty spot of Elena's bed. "Your father got a phone call at work today from that Tseng man. And he had the _nerve _to threaten—"

"I know," Elena admitted. "I could hear you two from up here."

"So...your mind's all made up then? You're not going to tell them no and do the right thing?" She asked sharply.

"I'm going. And that's the right thing," Elena said firmly.

"Is it? After seeing what happened to..." She trailed off for a moment, her voice breaking a little. "You would do that to us, so we have to _relive_ that?"

Elena eyes widened. "What? Is that why you didn't want me there in the first place?"

"Yes. And we didn't want Rosalind there, either," she confessed. "If I had it my way, this family wouldn't have anything to do with that company. Why did you think we didn't want you there?"

Elena just shook her head. "I don't even know..."

"We just...we didn't want you to get hurt."

Hearing her mother say that made Elena feel even guiltier. She had been wrong; all of the years that she thought they didn't care...they were trying to protect her. Trying to raise her to live a normal life. Knowing that changed her whole perspective. But it didn't change the fact that she'd never really wanted a normal life. And it wasn't enough to change her mind now.

"I promise I'll be careful, Mom." She knew her word wasn't enough to quell her mother's fear, but she felt she needed to say it.

She nodded a little. "Please do." She looked down at her watch. "It's getting late. You need to get some sleep if you're leaving early tomorrow." She then stood up and walked slowly to the door, turning back to Elena before she left. "Make sure we're awake tomorrow when you leave."

"I will," Elena promised. Her mother smiled and closed the door behind her.

Elena sighed, looking over to her stuff again. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. She darted over to her desk, searching through the drawers until she found what she was looking for. She then left the room and entered the adjacent bathroom. Making sure to close the door, she stood silently in front of the mirror. She needed to now; she needed to feel like she was beginning anew. And this had to be the best way to do it.

So, taking one last look, she took her long blonde hair in her hands and slammed her eyes shut. And with one pinch of the scissors, the hair fell to the ground.

_**

* * *

Author's Note: **__Whew, it's done! Still not my favorite, but I did enjoy writing some parts of it :) I wasn't originally going to end this chapter this peacefully, but it just felt like Elena needed to have some sort of closure with her family...so that's that. Just to let everyone know, this is the last chapter of the sort of "prelude" I've been doing about Elena, so the next chapter is where the actual story really starts to pick up. I'm going to be doing a little jump in the timeline, since I don't think anyone really wants to read about six years' worth of military training...just a little fyi so no one's confused later on...but that's all I'm saying for now! Yup, so please let me know how I did with this one! I love hearing from all of you! Toodles!_


End file.
